Hnefnatafl,The Viking Board Game

This Viking Game must rank as one of history's great board games. It was at
its most popular during the Dark Ages in Northern Europe. This was a period when
very few records were kept and when populations were always moving. Like so much
of the history of the Dark Ages our knowledge of the Viking Game is patchy. The
mystery of the game is now half solved as a result of archaeological research.

The game was popular in the Viking homelands in Scandinavia as early as 400
AD and was carried by the Vikings to the lands they conquered. Over the
centuries the game developed and different versions of the board have been found
by archaeologists in sites from Ireland to the Ukraine.

Occasionally referred to in manuscripts the game was known as Hnefatafl which
means literally "king's table".

Its decline began in the 11th century as chess grew in popularity. It soon
lingered on only in remote country districts. Hnefatafl was last recorded as
being played in Wales in 1587 and in Lappland in 1723.